Poll

Regional

By Traci Bruckner
Center for Rural Affairs
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) recently announced expansion of Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) crop insurance to all states and counties. WFRP was first made available for the 2015 crop year, and provides revenue insurance coverage on all of a farmer’s crops and animals under one policy. The policy was previously limited to certain states and counties.

FRANKFORT—The Kentucky Teachers Retirement System pension fund will need an additional $520.4 million in state contributions to be fully funded next fiscal year, a state pension oversight board heard today.
The $520.4 million is in addition to around $380 million paid out to KTRS from the state General Fund this fiscal year, state Deputy Budget Director John Hicks told the Public Pension Oversight Board. All funds are needed to help KTRS meet 100 percent of its ARC, or annual required contribution.

By Molly Haines
Owenton News-Herald
Despite Friday’s cloudy skies, the area around New’s Café, Antiques and Gold Star Bed & Breakfast bustled with excitement as passengers on the Rockin’ Thunder jet boat made a lunch stop at Gratz.
The Rockin’ Thunder Jet Boat Rides LLC, based in Madison, Ind., offers the two-day Kentucky River Adventure for $199 per person. Cafe owners Earl and Linda New are hopeful the ride will help transform Gratz back into the busy river town it once was.

CARROLLTON, Ky. – General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton will host the Goldenrod Gala Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This one-day arts festival will feature handcrafted items, food and demonstrations. The event is also sponsored by Friends of Butler.

By KRISTIN BECK
The News-Democrat
Two Carroll County parents have been charged in the death of their four-day-old son.
Jarod Martin, 33, and Lisa Payton, 29, both of Carrollton, were charged with first-degree criminal abuse, a class C felony punishable by 5-10 years imprisonment and a fine between $1,000-$10,000. They are lodged at the Carroll County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash bond.

Staff Report
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, the City of Madison Police Department received a call from the Circle K at 115 Clifty Drive on Madison’s hilltop in reference to a foreign device that had been found inside of a gas pump. MPD also learned of a device inside of a pump at the Circle K Station at 1219 Clifty Drive. Officers learned the device is commonly known as a “card skimming” device that captures credit card and keystroke information.

The Kentucky State Fair opens Aug. 20, and the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet will be well represented during the 11-day event in Louisville.
Several cabinet agencies will have booths at the fair and will be prepared to offer information and answer questions from visitors. They include the Department of Travel and Tourism, the Department of Parks, the Office of Adventure Tourism, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky Historical Society.

The Kentucky State Police will be conducting traffic safety checkpoints in the counties of Oldham, Trimble, Henry, Owen, Carroll and Gallatin through Aug. 31. This will be in addition to the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign beginning on Aug. 21 and running through Sept. 7.
Violations of law or other public safety issues that arise shall be addressed in accordance with Kentucky traffic and regulatory laws.

The Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Madison will pay tribute to World War II veterans at a service planned for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015.
The service is part of an international effort to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945.
The event honors all World War II veterans and memorializes the approximately half million U.S. service members who lost their lives during the war.
All World War II veterans and their families are invited to be guests of honor at the service.

By KRISTIN BECK
Landmark News Service
A Carroll County grand jury indicted Carrollton Police Chief Michael S. Willhoite and Officer Ronald W. Dickow Monday on charges relating to an inmate being driven to Louisville and sent to Florida by bus. Both were indicted on charges of complicity to commit kidnapping, complicity to commit custodial interference and complicity to commit official misconduct.